In one's shadow

Konohamaru pushed away his second bowl of ramen and asked for a third one. The man prepared it, but also commented that he was reminded of Naruto whenever he saw Konohamaru come around. Konohamaru sighed after recieving his ramen. Before he was always just 'The 3rd Hokage's grandson' now he was 'Mini Naruto', a shodow of the first. When would he ever just be 'Konohamaru'?

Naruto bounded into the ramen shop, hoping to gulp twenty bowls of homemade delicious ramen in the time he was there. He noticed Konohamaru, grinned and sat down across from him "Hey Konohamaru, I just perfected my sexy jutsu, believe it!" Naruto exclaimed. He glanced at the solemn expression of Konohamaru's face "Hey what's up with you?" He asked with concern.

Konohamaru immediately brightened up at the sound of his name. "Naruto Nii-chan!" He exclaimed and started gulping down his ramen. To answer Naruto's question he did a 'thumbs-up' while still slurping down the ramen. "I'm actually doing awesome, Nii-chan! Unlike you, I've stopped wasting my time with the plain sexy jutsu and I've developed new techniques!"

Naruto laughed and ruffled Konohamaru's hair, "Hey hey that's pretty cool, but you still have a long way before you catch up to me, believe it!" He scratched his head, and ordered another bowl of ramen with extra pork. The cook smiled as he brought the ramen over to the table and looked at Konohamaru "Trying to be just like Naruto?" He asked jokingly.

Naruto grinned as he slurped the ramen "Hey that's right, you ARE my rival still aren't ya?" He said to Konohamaru. The cook glanced at the boy.

"I'm sure one day you will become Hokage, honorable grandson." The cook said.

"You would think that the boy would have a name, don't you?" An icy deep feminine voice muttered. There was a flash of short spiky brown hair with crimson streaks and a girl about 14 with black-encircled silver eyes and a gourd upon her back was standing before them.

Konohamaru scowled at the conversation between the cook and Naruto. He slurped away at his miso ramen as well, but right when he thought 'Don't I have a name?', he heard his thoughts spoken out loud and turned to see the girl who had just appeared in front of them.

"Huh? Who are you?" He looked, startled, at Naruto and pointed to the strange girl. "You know her, Nii-chan?" He asked, very confused.

Naruto turned, saw Kat and froze. He leaned over and whispered to Konohamaru "That's Sabaku no Kat, she's just like Gaara only worse. But she's a good friend though. Just don't get in her way or she'll kill you."

A razor-sharp dagger with an hour-glass on it was shoved underneath Naruto's neck. Kat was standing right behind him "I can hear your conversation you know, perhaps you have a death wish, hmm? Perhaps you would like to be my first victim of the day, prey!" She teased evilly. Naruto tried to chuckle but Kat still kinda frightened him.

Kat analyzed Konohamaru with her icy silver eyes that seemed to see right through him "Forgive me of my bloodlust and be thankful you weren't the target of it. Your name??" She asked in a silkily voice.

(you mind if i post?)

He gulped. Naruto's warning was well said. He looked back and forward between the two and then, suddenly, started laughing. "AHAHA! Nii-chan! You're scared of her?! Really?! I have to admit, she is a bit creepy, but I'm a kid! Ahaha!" His laughed formed into a small chuckle as he went back to his ramen.

"I like you, Nee-chan!" He addressed to Kat between gulps. "My name is Konohamaru, future Hokage, and Nii-chan's best and most accomplished rival!" He gave her the 'peace' sign, feeling totally relaxed around the woman Naruto deemed to fear.

ooc: I'm fine with it. Kat?

ooc: Well since it's a free country (Or at least it's supposed to be) and since I like Raku, why should I care *Glomps Raku*


In awe that the kid wasn't at least intimidated by her mysteriously demonic aura or the almost psychotic look in her eyes, Kat smirked and ruffled the boy's hair "You're...very interesting, I think I like you, Konohamaru." She muttered and turned to face Naruto "So you fear me? Filthy coward!" She scowled at Naruto's face.

Naruto tried to grin ("I hate it when she is THIS bloodthirsty...believe it" He thought silently to himself) "Who me? Scared of a little kitty cat like yourself, no way! I, Naruto Uzumaki, future Hokage will not fear anything, believe it!"

There was a glint of amusement in Kat's pupiless eyes "You must want to experience true terror, although I doubt you'll live to tell..." Naruto glared, trying to disguise his apprehension
"Bastard!" He swore at her while thumbing his nose at her, and pulled down his eyelid and stuck out his tongue.

Kat narrowed her eyes so they looked like black slits with a tiny bit of silver in the center "That's bastard-sama to you, prey! You seem to have forgotten your place in the food chain. My existence will NOT cease as long, although yours might." She said with no emotion and pointed her dagger at Naruto's throat.

Naruto's hands began to shake and he turned to Konohamaru "Bite her something, mini-Naruto!" He pointed at the slightly insane girl "Show me what you can do, prove that you're a worthy rival."

A light smirk appeared on Kat's face as she compared Naruto to Konohamaru "He doesn't need to prove himself to me, you, however, should be. And...unless you want your death to consist of being buried alive in sand, I suggest you start calling Konohamaru by his real name, he is different from the Third Hokage you know..."

*he walked in silently and sat down a couple feet behind kat and the others*

Konohamaru was exuberant at Kat's denial to call him anything else but his name. He fumbled with his headband, grinning an almost psychotic smile at Naruto. "That's right, Nii-chan! You of all people should know that I'm nothin like gramps, and I'm definatly not a mini-Naruto!"

He then reached across the table and swiped Naruto's partially eaten bowl of pork ramen and started slurping it down. "Nee-chan is a lot cooler then you, cheif! I've probably already overtaken your ninjutsu skills while you've been goofing off!"

He didn't even notice Raku.

Naruto's face fell as he looked at the happy Konohamaru that had stolen HIS ramen and then at the dagger pointed at his throat. He shoved the dagger away from him and glared at Kat "Can't you ever mind your own damn business??" and then he turned and glared at Konohamaru "Oh don't tell me you're on HER side? And if you're so good then put your money where your mouth is, believe it!" He tried to grab the bowl of ramen back but was whacked upside the head by Kat. "Ouch, that hurt!"

"So not only is your existence pathetically weak but you also are rude. I'm beginning to lose my respect for you, Uzumaki. By the way, Naruto, it's a free country so don't tell me what to do." Kat muttered. She glanced at Konohamaru "You seem pleased that I called you by your real name, why?"

Naruto was busy murmuring death threats under his breath.

Konohamaru stuck out his toungue to Naruto and then faced Kat. He leaned his chin on his palm and stirred the ramen with one of his cho sticks. "My grandfather, the third, gave me my name after the village. But even though everyone knows it, they still only call me 'Honored Grandson' and what not. They only see me as my grandfather's shadow. Not a different person altogether.." He pouted a bit, looking down at the ramen which went cold.

Then he pointed strait at Naruto, almost yelling. "And now everyone refurs me as 'Mini-Naruto'! Am I ever gonna get some respect?!" He glanced back at Kat and quickly calmed himself, picking up one noodle and dropping it in his mouth. "That's why I'm gonna become Hokage, so no one will ever see me as a duplicate. I'll be the most respected ninja in Konoha, and everyone will know my name!" He smiled a cheeky grin, getting back into his up-beat spirit.

*he laughed a small laugh*

Kat nodded, she could relate to what he was saying. Afterall, they referred to her as a monster or the Suna experiment gone haywire, she apparently had not identity "So you want to be acknowledged as an individual? I don't blame you, it's seems all of the pressure falls upon you. You are an individual, not a carbon-copy of another human and you certainly are a lot different from the Hokage himself!" She said and ordered another bowl of ramen for Konohamaru, "They should acknowledge you for who you are and base it upon nothing else."

Naruto had a stupid idiotic grin on his face ("Mini-Naruto? finally some people are starting to respect my ultra-great ninja abilities, believe it!")

A tiny smirk appeared on Kat's face as she analyzed Naruto with her icy silver eyes that could see through anybody's intentions "Your delusions of grandeur are sickening. How can you expect a person to be a miniature version of yourself when you haven't proven your existence to this village and to me? I suggest you respect Konohamaru for who he is, or you just might be surpassed by him."

Kat turned once again and looked at Konohamaru "I respect you. However, I don't mean to lecture but being Hokage is about protecting and ensuring what's right for the village. I like your plan but what if people label you even more as the Third once you become Hokage?"

Naruto was glaring at the fact, that Konohamaru seemed more interested in Kat then in himself. He turned his back and sulked.

The door suddenly creaked open and a slim, fragile looking boy about 19 slipped inside the ramen shop. He was very pallid with dark circles under his eyes from lack of sleep and his sandy girlish looking hair was swept up in a short pony tail. Yashamaru made his way to the table and sat beside Konohamaru "Have any of you seen Gaara-sama anywhere. It is essential that I speak with him, it is essential that he forgives me."

*he listened in very curious about the new comer*

Konohamaru grinned as another bowl of ramen was placed in front of him. He then put his hands on his hips and straitened his back. "See, I've already figured that out! I'm gonna be such a better Hokage then the one's before that no one will be able to compare me! I'll master my ninjutsu and make the best decisions for this village so no one will say: 'He's just like his grandfather,' or 'he reminds me of that dork, Naruto'! Everyone will say I'm like no other!"

He picked up his chop-sticks, wanting to make sure the ramen didn't go cold this time. "And of course I'm gonna surpass Nii-chan! I've already come up with a few powerful jutsus of my own!"

He was just about to dig into his meal when Yashamaru so rudly shoved him further along the chair and sat down himself, asking about Gaara. Konohamaru glared at him, but couldn't reply since he had only seen the sand shinobi once in his life, and that was many years ago.

Kat grinned and gave Konohamaru the 'thumbs up' sign and chuckled "Heh, I'll be looking forward to seeing you achieve your goal. And don't mind poor pathetic Naruto, he is envious!" She glared at Naruto and stole HIS ramen and slurped it down in one gulp "Deal with it Naruto or I'll kill you!"

Yashamaru apologized for being rude, got up and dragged another chair over to the table. Kat glanced at him and blushed slightly ("AHH! Why the hell am I blushing?!" She thought frantically.) After making sure her nose wasn't bleeding, Kat glared at Yashamaru.

"Is there something wrong?" Yashamaru asked curiously, wondering what kind of deed he had committed that caused the girl to stare at him so hatefully. He looked at Konohamaru and asked "Did I say something?"

Naruto snickered "Yeah moron, you exist!"

Yashamaru felt very confused...

Konohamaru was just about as confused as Yashamaru, but he pretended to go along with it, staring at him with resentment. He shuffled over, slurping down his ramen but not saying a word fore he did not want to be looking like a fool.

*he got up and walked over to Kat and Naruto*
"Cloud is taken care of...you can thank me later"
*he walked out of the shop*

Sesshomaru walked in, completely unaware of the yammerring children. He sat onto a nearby stool and quielty asked the waitress "Water." The Waitress was surprised at his unusual request and replied. "Um, sir we sell beverages other than water, are you sure you dont want any sake, or soda?" Sesshomaru's eyes gazed evilly into her's and he said "I dont care if you sell any other beverages just to raise their price and get more money, just get me water or I'll cut your throat."

The waitress was terrified and quickly nudged her way into the kitchen to get a mug of water.